Participant 19

Guiding Questions:

What are your initial thoughts about the concept of Literacy with ICT (LwICT)?
Having been involved with the LwICT initiative for several years now, the presentation this AM is nothing new. Seeing the changes taking pace at Early and Middle years, the Dept is on the right track looking at moving the initiative into Senior Years.

What implementation barriers for LwICT do you foresee at Senior Years?
Access... Access to technology is going to be a hurdle. At the moment, most of the computers labs and such are booked for the ICT courses. The LwICT initiative raises the bar as it relates to expectation for ALL teachers to be using technology in their classes. When the demand increases for access, Divisions will be strapped to supply the resources necessary.

Time... Always a hurdle. Often you'll hear that the curriculum is packed enough with outcomes. Adding an increased expectation to use technology is one more thing to accommodate in an already busy course.

Skills... And of course, the ICT skill level of the teacher. Granted, teachers need not be the experts in any technology, but they need to be, at the ver least, aware of the technology and how it can be leveraged in the class. However, a requisite degree of technical expertise is going to be required if a teacher is going to be able to effective integrate a given technology in to a class. GPS units and GIS software are good examples... A teacher need not be an expert using a GPS and GIS software, but they will still need to understand the benefits of using the technology and have a good technical understanding of how to use it.
What opportunities does LwICT present for Senior Years?To encourage the use technology in all subject areas... not just the ICT courses. All students will have the opportunity to use technology... not just the ones who have an interest in that area and have enrolled in High School ICT courses.

What professional learning is required initially to prepare Senior Years teachers to begin to use the LwICT continuum?
Just like the implementation at Early Years, at the outset, time and effort is going to be required to inservice teachers and develop the ICT skills required to effectively integrate technology in their classes. Beyond that, the continuum itself dovetails nicely with the A&E push happening in many Divisions across the province. That makes an ideal entry point for schools to begin the discussions about the continuum.
What types of ICT do you currently have in your Senior Years classroom?Digital cameras, Digital video cameras, GPS units, probeware, SmartBoards, LCD projectors, mobile laptop labs, heart rate monitors, PE movement analysis software (Dartfish)

What types of ICT are available to you in your school, but not in your classroom?Many of the above items mentioned are available at the school level for use by all teachers. More and more projectors and SmartBoards, however, are being installed in individual classrooms.

What subjects and grades do you teach and how do you currently use ICT to enhance student learning?
Not applicable in my current position.